Mop having hinged backing plates for wringing



Dec. 22, 1953 BAGLEY, JR 2,663,039

MOP HAVING HINGED BACKING PLATES FOR WRINGING Filed March 3, 1951 IN VEN TOR.

ind/7 Patented Dec. 22, 1953 MOP HAVING HINGED BACKING FOR WRINGING PLATES I John F. Bagley, Jit, South Hadley,'Mass.,. assignor to Stanley Home Products, Inc., Westfield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application March 3, 1951, Serial No. 213,748

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-119) This invention relates to improvements in mop construction.

The principal objects of the invention are directed to the provision of a mop'construction wherein relatively hinged members support a mop element in such a way that the hinged members may be manipulated to squeeze or ring the mop element.

The construction is simple in form so as to be adapted for low cost manufacture. At the same time, it is efiicient in operation and readily and easily manipulated. 7

As one special feature of the invention, the mop element supports are hinged in such a, manner as to obviate binding thereby insuring ease in the squeezing operation.

As another feature of the invention, the arrangement is such that in the wringing operation the mop element is doubled upon itself by relatively swingable supports thereby to wring or squeeze water from the element easily and quickly and when released, due to the inherent resiliency of the mop element, 'it' automatically adjusts itself to mopping condition.

As further features of the invention, the mop carried by the support members may be readily replaced and the structure may be associated with handles of various forms.

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangements of parts thereof, as will fully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features which will be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claim hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are plan and end elevational views of a mop construction embodying the novel features of the invention; I

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the mop element and supports therefor shown in wringing relation; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through one of the mop element supports.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, the invention will be fully described.

A pair of supports 2 and 4 for a mop element are provided which was preferably in the form of elongated plate-like sections. Said supports may be formed from relatively thin metal, plastic material or the like and will have relatively more rigidity and stiffness than the mop element to be described.

Adjacent inner longitudinal portions of the members 2 and t are provided with longitudinally spaced openings 6 and 8, as shown. Said membe'rs 2 and 4 may be similar in form and construction.

' A hinge member in the form of a spiral I?) is screwed into the openings s and B for hingedly connecting the members 2 and' i together. Said member It may be associated with members 2 and 4 by any suitable means.

The member it may be made from wire or the like and functions for relative swinging of the members 2 and 4 between the coplaner relation of Fig. 1 and the angular relation of Fig. 3.

A mop element i2 is provided which is secured to the underside of the supports 2 and i. Said element may be formed. from sponge-like material such as viscose material, sponge rubber or.

the like and it may be secured to the member 2 and 4 by adhesive, vulcanization or in any well known manner. Said mop element will be such as is adapted for mopping and cleaning purposes and to hold water which may be wrung therefrom.

As shown in Fig. 2, the mop element I 2 and supports 2 and Q are in mopping relation. That is, the mop may be moved about the floor or the like for the usual mopping and cleaning operation and may, of course, carry Water or other liquid.

When it is desired to wring or squeeze the mop element [2 the supports 2 and i are swung towards one another to an angular position, as indicated in Fig. 3.

As the supports are swung on their hinge connection, the mop element is doubled upon itself longitudinally so that longitudinal side portions are brought into engaging contact.

The plate supports may assume any angular element squeezing relation to accomplish the desired squeezing, compressing, or wringing result and thereby eliminate water in the element. The wringing operation is easily and readily accomplished as the supports are swung towards one another.

As distinguished from the well known form of hinge, the convolutions of the member In and openings in the members 2 and 4 are arranged for some play so as to facilitate free swinging of said members and adequate squeezing of the mop element.

The members 2 and 4 may be moved longitudinally of each other to a limited extent upon wringing.

The mop element will have some degree of in herent resiliency so that when the members 2 and 4 are released said mop element will have a tendency to swing said members to assume the relative position of Fig. 2.

The members 2 and 4 may, if desired, be provided with openings M to facilitate drainage when the mop element is squeezed.

The mop construction may be manipulated for mopping operations by various handle arrangements which will permit relative swinging of the members 2 and 4.

For illustrative purposes, a handle It is shown which on its end carries a prong I8 and a clamp member 29 which is urged towards the prong by a wing nut 22 in threaded engagement with a stud 2d of the part it.

The construction referred to is shown and described in a Patent #2,621,353 issued to me on Dec. 16, 1952.

The supports 2 and i intermediate opposite ends adjacent inner longitudinal edge portions are provided with portions 26 which are offset upwardly, as in Fig. 4, to provide pockets 28.

The aforesaid prong l8 of the handle connecting device is inserted in the pocket of oneof the members such as 4 and the clamp 29 is brought to bear on the said member 4.

As state the handle construction and connection with the mop element support may take any desired form and forms no part of the present invention.

The invention may be embodied in other specine forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present rembodirnents are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A. rnop construction comprising in combination, a pair of elongated relatively rigid sheet metal plates having inner marginal longitudinal portions and upper and lower faces, a unitary flat flexible sponge mop member extending over and secured to the lower races of said plates, said plates provided with openings of a certain diameter spaced along said inner marginal portions of the plates, an elongated Wire member formed as a helix having convolutions thereof in said openings, said member having a diameter relatively less than said certain diameter oi said openings whereby said convolutions are loosely disposed in said openings and plates may swing on the con-- volutions of said inern -e?" and towards one another for squeezing mop member between lower faces of the plates and. said plates may move longitudinally of one another in relative swinging thereof, and one of said plates provided with a portion extending upwardly from the upper face thereof for engagement by a mop handie device.

France Jan. 25, 1937 

